08 Dec 2020

The South East District Council Chairperson, Mr Oshima Peloewetse says the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in South East District schools are a concern.

Mr Peloewetse told a full council session in Ramotswa on Monday the number of COVID-19 cases were on the rise in the district, forcing some schools to close.

He said the increase was indication of lapses in the school systems’ capacity to control the spread of the disease.

The chairperson thus appealed to all stakeholders in the education system to fulfill their obligations, particularly those aimed at ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children at schools during the pandemic.

Mr Peloewetse, however, commended those in the frontline of the pandemic fight  for their selfless efforts and further appealed to all members of the community to play their part to control the spread.

He said 2020 had been a difficult one for the education sector, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdowns of the greater Gaborone zone, which affected both syllabus coverage and administration of examinations.

Furthermore, he noted that some learners and teachers had to miss school due to either isolation or quarantine, which affected teaching and learning.

Councillor Peloewetse said learners from over eight schools, including Moeding College and Kagiso Senior Secondary School, wrote their examinations either at home or at quarantine centres.

He also commended schools for their continued commitment, despite the challenges, saying at some point, learners were given work to continue while at home.

He revealed that the mock examination results for primary schools, junior schools and senior schools were below target.

He said the results for the primary schools’ mock examination stood at 68 per cent pass against the regional target of 85 per cent, while junior schools performed dismally at 21 per cent, against the 65 per cent target.

Mr Peloewetse said the senior schools’ average performance was 24.6 per cent, with St Joseph College scoring 42 per cent, Moeding College scoring 17 per cent and Kagiso Senior scoring 15 per cent.

Apart from the below target academic performance, he also expressed worry over the number of school drop outs due to pregnancy, saying in this quarter alone, five girls had dropped out.

He pleaded with councillors to address the matter in their respective wards. Ends